In today’s world Instagram made people feel like they are professional photographers and the Iphone made people feel like they are the next James Cameron. The world of DIY is on a rampage. However, I have bad news for the common hobbyist of videography. Professional wedding videos are professional for many reasons. Below I will give three of the main reasons why professional wedding videos are deemed professional. These three points should guide you into understanding wedding film prices and choosing the right wedding package that suits your needs.

1. Knowledge and Experience in Pre Production and Production- A wedding production company is most likely made up of wedding videography professionals that have studied the art of video production either in a credible institution or in the field. There are three parts to wedding film production. The first part to wedding video production is pre-production. At this stage all of the planning is getting done for production. A detailed schedule is created with the bride and groom so they know exactly how the day is going to be coordinated. Key shots and scenes are planned so the bride and groom are prepared to act out the storyline. The next stage is production. Production falls on the actual wedding day. The director of photography understands lighting, the mechanics of the camera, use of rigs and composition of shots. These elements make up a cinematic wedding film.

2. Professional Equipment- An experienced wedding production company will own professional equipment. The non-professional will own consumer equipment. Professional video camera equipment range from High Definition cinema cameras to 4K cinema cameras. The term 4K refers to the horizontal resolution (instead of the vertical) of these formats, which are all on the order of 4,000 pixels. This brings digital cinematography to a new level. Your video is sure to have crystal clear image quality. Professional audio is another huge aspect to consider. Elite wireless lav microphones can be worn by the groom, bride, bridal parties, and ordained minister to catch everything being said flawlessly. This is so important in a professional wedding film especially in your documentary edit. The audio from key characters in the video will carry the storyline creating emotion and feeling to the film. Certain rigs like crane jibs, stedicams, sliders, monopods, and fluid head tripods will also enhance the quality of the video. Non-professionals will usually be operating the camera handheld, which creates an extremely shaky video. Also, they will be using non-fluid head tripods, which prevents smooth panning and tilting. Use this analogy, a housing contractor couldn’t use a screwdriver to perform a big job he would need a power drill.

3. Knowledge and Experience in Editing- The last part to creating professional wedding videos is editing. Video production companies pay thousands of dollars for editing software. An editor needs to spend countless hours and practice learning these software platforms. Editors usually go to credible institutions to learn editing practices. Editing is what brings the entire story together, you can have amazing footage but if the editing is bad it will ruin the entire wedding video. Editors will lay the score of a wedding video and this will carry the emotion and mood of the film. Soundtrack knowledge and experience is so important especially in highlight wedding videos. The last thing you want is an emotionless boring wedding film.

Professional wedding videos aren’t that simple to make. The next time Uncle Bob says I’ll shoot your video be sure to refer to these three points. A professional wedding production will have pre-production, production and post production aspects that require knowledge and experience. Remember these factors when choosing the right wedding package. Input these points when justifying wedding film prices. This video will be in your family for a lifetime and will be one of your most important keepsakes passed on to generations. Be sure to choose a professional video production company for your wedding video